Families from 14 communities in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico receive training on how to improve their nutrition and health

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Families from 14 communities in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico receive training on how to improve their nutrition and health

Banco de Alimentos de Mexico, FEMSA Foundation, and the Food Bank of Caritas de Monterrey launched the project Nutrinformate, aiming to raise awareness among homemakers about the importance their nutritional decisions bear on health.

The Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL, for its acronym in Spanish) will be in charge of measuring the project’s impact on the communities with nutritional poverty where the program will be implemented.

San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. February 26, 2015. - FEMSA Foundation and Bancos de Alimentos de Mexico (BAMX) through the Food Bank of Caritas de Monterrey launched the project Nutrinformate yesterday at the facilities of the Food Bank. The program looks to train families from 14 communities of Nuevo Leon on nutritional education so they can make informed decisions about their nutritio

This initiative contemplates the participation of the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), which will be in charge of measuring the impact of the project on six urban communities in Monterrey and Escobedo, and eight rural communities in Abasolo and El Carmen where the program will be implemented.

“We look to benefit families throughout the year with Nutrinformate. We will accomplish this with the delivery of staple food, by teaching Training Workshops on Personal Improvement, Values, Nutrition, and Health for homemakers, Workshops on Nutritional Education for children, as well as with the Development of Software to measure the Program’s Impact,” stated Marcelo Canales, President of Caritas de Monter

The program will teach children courses focusing on topics such as general hygiene, physical activity, nutritional habits and the importance of breakfast and snacks.

The topics for homemakers include hygiene, physical activity, nutritional value of meals, distribution of portions, food and sweetener labeling, home economy and rescue of the nutritional culture, nutrition of pre-school and elementary school children, the importance of breakfast and snacks, as well as the methods for mixing, combining, and conserving food.

“Nutrinformate wants homemakers to learn the importance their decisions bear on the nutrition and health of their families and on the welfare of their community,” said Vidal Garza Cantu, director of FEMSA Foundation. “At the same time, with this program we are providing children with the information they need to grow healthy and energetic so they can become adults with a better quality of life.”

The initiative is part of the agreement that BAMX and FEMSA Foundation signed in 2014 to supplement the efforts that Food Banks make in the improvement of the nutritional safety through nutritional education workshops. During the initial stage, both organizations collaborated in a project held in the facilities of eight Food Banks in different cities of Mexico and in two pilot projects, the first with the Food Bank of Saltillo, and the second launched today in Monterrey. These last two use mobile kitchens to bring these benefits to diverse communities. The organizations work together in the shared vision of enabling homemakers so they can contribute to an improvement of the welfare of Mexican families and communities.

During the launching of Nutrinformate we counted with the illustrious participation of Monsignor Rogelio Cabrera Lopez, Archbishop of Monterrey, he graciously blessed the mobile kitchen and the project. Also present were Vidal Garza Cantu, Director of FEMSA Foundation; Carlos Mery Milan, Vice-President of BAMX; Jesus Ancer Rodriguez, Dean of UANL; Hilda Irene Novelo Huerta, Dean of UANL’s Faculty of Public Health and Nutrition (FaSPyN); Jose Armando Peña Moreno, Dean of UANL’s Faculty of Psychology (FaPsi); Marcelo Canales Clariond, President of Caritas de Monterrey; and Oscar Reyes, CEO Caritas de Monterrey.

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About FEMSA Foundation

FEMSA Foundation is a social investment instrument that supports both the conservation and sustainable use of water and the improvement of the quality of life of the community through the application of education, science, and technology.

Its area of Sustainable Development of Hydric Resources channels resources towards projects focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of water for the protection of ecosystems not only in the present but for future generations too. It has three programs, Conservation of Watersheds, Water and Sanitation, and Construction of Capacities and Applied Research. In turn, the department of Quality of Life focuses on supporting projects aiming to improve the nutrition and health of the population of our communities. The programs of Quality of Life are Nutritional Education, Healthy Lifestyles, and Construction of Capacities and Applied Research. If you wish to learn more about FEMSA Foundation, please visit www.fundacionfemsa.org.

About BAMX

Bancos de Alimentos de Mexico is a nonprofit civic association established in 1995 that focuses on salvaging food to combat hunger and on improving the nutrition of Mexico’s vulnerable population. It is a network of 58 food banks distributed throughout Mexico, during 2013 alone, this network salvaged almost 116,000 tons of food, helping more than 1.1 million constant beneficiaries. It makes up one of the most important civic associations in the country. It is the only network of food banks in Mexico and the second largest in the world.

About Caritas de Monterrey

Caritas de Monterrey is an organization of the Catholic Church grounded on love; it provides welfare services as well as human and community development among our most vulnerable brethren with no distinction to creed or religion, making the Christian communication of assets a reality. If you wish to learn more about Caritas, please visit www.caritas.mx

About the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon

UANL is a public educational institution, committed to the society and with a mission of educating high-school students, technicians, undergraduate students, university teachers and researchers capable of performing with efficiency in the society of knowledge. A group of people possessing a wide worldview and fully aware of the regional, domestic, international, and global environments, people who apply university principles and values, committing to a sustainable economic, scientific, technological, and cultural development of humanity; they are innovative and competitive, achieving their personal development while contributing to the advancement of the country in an international context.